Page 51 of The Raven
The machine breathing for her emits a soft beep every so often, and at thefoot of her bed, the doctors talk to Raven’s mom and stepdad. I can’t focus on what they’re saying, but I catch the odd word.
‘Done all we can.’
‘Injuries are too traumatic.’
‘Withdraw life support.’
When her mom breaks down sobbing, I know I have to get out of the room. Ican’t breathe, and I can’tjustsit there and watch my soulmate die.
I rush from the room and head down the corridor before slamming my fistsinto the coffee machine. My knuckles throb, but it’s nothing compared to the ache in my heart.
Behind me, voices float from the staff room, and I hear Raven’s name.Creeping over, I rest my ear against the jamb, listening to the conversation between two uniformed cops.
“I’m surprised she’s still alive after what the Vipers did to her,”one copsays.
“She’d be better off dead,”the other replies, and my fists clench, ready toplow into something again. Or rather, in his face.“Let’s be honest, if she survives, she’s gonna be fucked up for the rest of her life.”After a short pause, the cop adds,“Don’t look at me likethat. You know I’m right. Multiple vaginal and ass rape? How does someone move on fromthat?”
I’m about to go in there and beat the shit out of the two of them for being sofucking disrespectful, but I stop when the first cop says,“If she survives, it won’t be for long. Youreallythink Grim will let the only living witness stay alive when she could be the one who finally gets him and the others locked up for life? Not a chance. The second Grim gets wind she isn’t dead, he’ll come back and finish the job.”
My vision blurs, and I sway on the spot. He’s right. If, and I acceptthatit isa long shot, but if Raven pulls through, she’ll testify against Grim and the rest of the Vipers. She’ll be able to testifythatshe witnessed them kill Eric, andthatthey raped and tried to murder her. Her testimony will get them locked away for the rest of their life. It couldevenresult in them receiving the death penalty.
It hits methen. Grim will never let her live, and unless Raven has protectionaround the clock, twenty-four-seven for the rest of her life, she’ll always be Grim’s number one target.
The only way Grim will forget about Raven is if she is dead. Or, hethinksshe’s dead.
With determined strides and my mind spinning, I jog down the stairs and outof the hospital before pulling out my phone and dialing the number of the one person I know will be able to help.
By some miracle, my dad managed to pull off what I’d asked of him. I guessit paid to have a father who was a senior agent in the FBI with a number of contacts at his disposal.
It helpedthatRaven’s mom was inconsolable at learning her daughter wasunlikely to survive her injuries. The doctors had to sedate her, and Nathan took her home, making me promisethatI would stay with Raven until she passed away.
The doctors working on Raven’s care were made to sign iron-cladconfidentiality agreements, and under the cover of darkness, Raven was taken from the hospital and escorted several hours away by plane to a private hospital, specialist doctors monitoring her vitals the entire way.
By morning, news broke in Hadleigh PeakthatRaven had succumbed to herinjuries. I had several arguments with my father as to whether we should have told her mom and NathanthatRaven was still alive, but as my father rightly pointed out, the fewer people who knew what we’d done, the safer it was for Raven.
Besides, there was still a strong possibility she would die from her injuries.It would have been cruel to tell her mom she was still alive, only to have to break the newsthatshereallyhad died.
I’d never felt so guilty in all my life when I sat at the back of the churchwatching people cry at Raven’s funeral, knowing full well the casket contained the body of a Jane Doe who’d been found dead on the street.
As for Raven, she proved me right. I always said she was a fighter. Within afew weeks after being moved to the private hospital, the doctors removed the machine breathing for Raven, and to my utmost relief, she was able to breathe for herself.
Over time, her injuries healed, but she never woke up.
Never showed the slightest hint of waking up.
The doctors warned me time and time againthatthe chances were shewouldn’teverwake up, andevenif she did, she was likely to be brain-damaged, but I still refused to listen. She’d come so far.
But weeks turned into months, and the hopethatshe’d wake up started tofade. Until one day, not so long ago, I found her standing in my kitchen, the two of us confused as to how she was there.
When it became apparentthatRaven wasn’t a figment of my imagination, Idebated as to if I should tell her the truth; she wasn’t dead, but lost in a coma. Every time I was about to tell her, though, I changed my mind. I was convincedthatwhen all was said and done, she would finally pass away and find the peace she was so determined to fight for.
But she was still here, and now, I needed her to come back to me.
I kissed her hand again, keeping my gaze on her face, and looking for theslightest hintthatshe could hear me.
“Raven,”I whispered, trying to keep my voice steady and not break with theweight of emotions I was holding on to.“I need you to wake up. I need you to come back to me. It’s only been a week since I last saw you, and it’s been hell on earth. I can’t live without you, Blackbird. From the minute I met you, you became my everything. My reason to live. My reason to breathe.Evenwhen we were apart, I always knew we’d find a way back to each other. I need you to find your way back to me now.”
I paused, waiting,hoping,for something. A flutter of her lashes. A twitch ofher hand. But nothing came.
